Living In Their Shadow
by Shiara Daydream
Summary: When one girl has famous parents, how is she expected to rise to fame herself?


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters. I also do not own the song "End of the Dream" by Evanescence.

The screams of thousands upon thousands of adoring fans reached my ears. The deafening noise was soothing, in a paradoxical way.

I wondered detachedly, if they were watching. Those two people who were unknowingly at fault for this whole thing. That was a bit unfair, I thought softly. They hadn't known what was happening. That every time I had smiled at them, it had been a cover for the pain their soothing words had meant to heal.

I brushed the useless thoughts aside once more. There wasn't time.

I absently noticed that the first notes of the song had passed and that my cue was rapidly approaching. I emptily gazed at the stage before I moved into the spotlight; and, with an awareness that was rapidly fading as the song went on, I noted that there had definitely been a spike in the screams from the audience as I stepped into view.

Unknown to them, this was much more than a debut. This was an act of rebellion, meant to startle those who claimed that they knew what was best for me; to come to the realization that they didn't know me at all.

I closed my eyes, and started to sing, _"I found a grave, brushed off the face…"_

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

The audience was in awe, the girl on the stage was the epitome of a tragic beauty. Adorned in a dress of resplendent white that contrasted perfectly with her long hair; her appearance called to mind the old rhyme meant to describe a princess: _skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair dark as ebony…._

The girl moved as if she were floating, so ethereal was her appearance. It contrasted greatly with the lyrics of the song that were flowing from her lips.

_"Felt your light, and I remember why I know this place…_

_ I found a bird, closing her eyes…._

_ One last time, and I wondered if she dreamed…_

_ Like me…."_

With those words she moved slowly towards the center of the stage, a devilish smirk crept its way onto her face as she slowly sang the next verse.

_"Well, as much as it hurts,_

_ Ain't it wonderful to feel?"_

That one action transformed her face so completely, that some members of the audience felt the telltale hairs raise on the backs of their necks at the sight. She stopped moving as she reached center stage. The band behind her dressed darkly, as if they were mere specters in contrast.

_"So go on and bring your wings…_

_ Follow your heart till it bleeds…._

_ As we run towards the end of the dream…."_

At the words, two stunning white wings unfolded themselves from the back of her dress. The audience gasped in awe.

_"I'm not afraid; I push through the pain…_

_ And I'm on fire…_

_ I remember how to breathe again…."_

Gasps of horror and astonishment ripped through the crowd at the sight of the once brilliant white dress turning black, as if from invisible flames. Her wings became a murky grey and many of the abundant feathers were missing.

_"As much as it hurts,_

_ Ain't it wonderful to feel?"_

She moved confidently to the front of the stage. Her face completely transformed to that of an evil, haunting beauty; the effect only enhanced by the now black dress and broken wings.

_"So go on and bring your wings…_

_ Follow your heart, till it bleeds…._

_ As we run towards the end of the dream…"_

The girls face was now covered in shadow, causing the audience to unsuccessfully strain against the others next to them so as to get closer to the unearthly being on stage.

_"Why must we fall apart…._

_ To understand how to fly?"_

At this, the girl raised her head to show the pure hatred the words had summoned. She looked out at the audience, almost defiantly, and a new light entered her eyes. The light wrought a terrible beauty across her features.

_"I will find a way…_

_ Even without wings…_

_ Follow your heart till it bleeds…._

_ As we run towards the end of the dream…."_

The useless wings began to turn black and new dark feathers sprung forth. Her dark hair became unrestrained and fanned out behind her. The fierce look on her face coupled with the new darkness achieved the intended affect: she was the very image of a fallen angel.

_"Follow your heart till it bleeds…._

_ And we've gone to the end of the dream….."_

As the final notes of the song weaved their way through the air, the audience cheered with renewed vigor at was quite possibly the best performance they had ever seen.

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx_

Far away, watching the show from a TV screen, two people were thoroughly shaken. The couple clasped their hand together, their wedding bands seemingly welded together from the strength of their grasp, both searching for comfort and stabililty.

Ren and Kyoko Tsugara watched the screen that showed the debut of Japans most anticipated actress/singer. They saw a girl who they could barely recognize. They saw their daughter, and wondered where they're sweet little girl had gone.

For they were not imbeciles, they knew the song was aimed at them; but they could not understand what they had done wrong, no matter how much they tried.

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

From his office at LME, President Lory sighed in regret. He should've tried to warn them, the man thought to himself. He sighed again as he reluctantly admitted to himself that that would not have solved anything.

His eyes wandered to the young woman on the screen, thanking her fans with a serene grace that many would come to envy. He shook his head; she was so like her parents. But that was part of the problem. For her parents were so famous and idolized that though that little girl he had watched grow up had enough talent of her own, it was always pathetic when compared to her mother or her father; at least in her eyes anyway.

So this was her act of defiance, this was how she was going to make herself different from them. It seemed that things were about to take a turn for the worse….

Authors note: So how was it? Reviews appreciated immensely, and as to whether or not to continue this story, I'll leave that up for you to decide.


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